JOHN BYRNE R.S.A. (SCOTTISH 1940-2023) §
UNTITLED (MUSICIAN) - C.1973-5
£22,680
Auction: 02 April 2025 from 10:00 BST
Description
Signed ‘Patrick’ lower right, initialed ‘JB’ to head of instrument, oil on board
Dimensions
182cm x 152cm (71.5in x 59.75in)
Provenance
From The Collection of Father Tom Jamieson, Renfrew. Purchased directly from the artist and thence by descent to the present owners.
Footnote
It is possible this work relates to Byrne’s exhibition at the Third Eye Centre in Glasgow in 1975. Many of the works shown were on a monumental scale, inspired by his time working alongside Donovan in Los Angeles in 1971. Here Byrne had developed a fascination with the characters he encountered in the music scene of Hollywood’s dive bars. The subtext of much of the work in this subsequent series is critical of black exploitation and the Vietnam War. Meat featured heavily, and we see here various organs floating surreally in space, in a “Magritte-like sky”. The figure appears to be wearing a Civil War uniform which again alludes to a darker undercurrent of symbolism. The banjo-wielding musician would seem to bear a striking resemblance to the famous folk musician David Cosby, though it is also possible he is a character of Byrne’s invention.